


A Magnificent Ship

by cazmalfoy



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 21:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6583495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's 1941, the height of the London blitz and a spaceship sits tethered to Big Ben...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Magnificent Ship

Jack paused at the base of Big Ben, looking up at the space ship above him longingly. It had been a long time since he had seen the Chula ship he had once called his own. Well, since he had stolen it anyway. 

He had forgotten how large she was (ships were always female, even in his own time they were never referred to as male). In its current condition it was impossible to tell that her nose and wings were tipped with red bodywork. 

Blood red, Jack thought to himself, glancing at his watch before sliding it into his pocket. According to his calculations, the event he was looking for should be happening right about now…

Almost perfectly on schedule, the previously undetectable ship became visible to the naked eye and he found he couldn’t see the dark sky any more.

Getting into Big Ben was almost too easy for Jack and his Vortex Manipulator; while it’s time travelling and teleporting setting were broken, it still seemed to work on all manner of technology. 

Carefully so as not to draw attention, Jack removed a loose piece of glass from the face of the darkened clock. He knew it wouldn’t be good for him to come into his past’s line of sight. Back then he had been foolishly naive and would have thought some one from the Agency was playing an elaborate joke on him.

Being in the same place as himself was one thing, but actually being  _touched_ by the original version of Jack would have created a paradox and Jack wasn’t ready to deal with those particular consequences.

"Do you have the time?" Rose asked quietly, clearly trying to focus on anything other than the man dancing with her.

Quickly he ducked away from the clock face as it lit up and the mechanisms inside came to life once more. With a shake of his head, Jack silently admonished himself for being so stupid as to illuminate their presence in the middle of an air raid.

Glancing back outside and seeing himself standing with Rose, Jack felt the familiar pang of affection for the young woman. From the moment he had spotted her hanging from the Barrage Balloon, wearing jeans and a Union Jack T-shirt in the middle of a German air raid, he knew there was something special about her.

In retrospect, Jack knew that he would never have stayed with the Doctor and Rose if he had known what would happen in the months that would follow. In the past, Jack had been a coward; he knew it and had no qualms about admitting that, even if he were only admitting it to himself.

But meeting the Doctor had changed all that. He had witnessed someone who wasn’t afraid to face strange things, and look at life with a different perspective each day. Every experience with the Doctor had been life changing and Jack constantly wondered what would have happened if they had never met.

"Maybe we should go find him," he heard himself conclude a speech about being a criminal and discussing payment.

He actually flushed at seeing himself so foolish and jumping to conclusions about who the young woman was. Knowing what he knew, thinking she was a Time Agent seemed like the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"And how are we going to do that?" Rose challenged, looking at the past version of himself curiously.

"Easy, I’ll do a scan for alien tech."

His eyes widened with the realisation that the Vortex Manipulator he was wearing would probably show up on said scan. Fumbling about with the cover, he barely managed to deactivate its power supply before the version of Jack standing outside began his search.

A few moments passed in silence and Jack took the time to take in his appearance. He hadn’t really changed much; he figured it was the plus side of being immortal. Both versions of him were wearing the same uniform, although the stripes on the shoulders of his own uniform were earned, not just acquired by chance.

For over fifty years, Jack had been avoiding joining Torchwood full time and he had recently discovered that the only way to get them to stop recruiting him was to sign up to the war. 

Although, thinking of a name to sign up with had been difficult. He knew there was already the real Captain Jack Harkness in the Air Force and pretty soon, the past version of himself would be added to the complicated mix. So to stop people mixing the two Captain Harknesses, and to avoid raising suspicion, he had enrolled as Captain James Harper, RAF Corporal. 

That had been six years ago, and the speed through which he had managed to work his way through the ranks was somewhat alarming and an indication of how desperate the Air Force was for people who were born leaders.

Eventually the past version of himself and Rose teleported away, leaving the space ship floating in mid-air in the middle of London, at the height of the London Blitz.

Nervously, Jack slid out of the gap he had created and stretched his leg out onto the ship. Feeling it solid beneath him, he took a deep breath and stepped fully on to the invisible vessel. It felt strange to be standing in the space he had just witnessed himself vacate.

Reactivating his Vortex Manipulator, Jack pressed a few buttons, remembering a code from long ago, which allowed him access to the ship beneath him.

He grimaced when he cracked his head on the hull above him; he could have sworn there had been more room to stand upright last time and he didn’t feel like he had grown taller in his time as an immortal man.

Pressing his hands against the wall, Jack closed his eyes for a moment, lost in the memories of someone who felt like a complete stranger to him. He jumped when he heard a computerised voice greet him, "Welcome back, Captain."

"Thanks… I think," he whispered the last words to himself, not entirely sure how to deal with a computer that thought he was the past version of him.

"Is there anything I may assist you with?"

Jack shook his head before rolling his eyes when he realised how futile a gesture it was, the computer could only  _hear_ what he was saying, and it couldn’t see the former Time Agent’s actions.

"No," he assured the ship. "Everything’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ll just… looking for something."

"May I assist you in locating what you are searching for?" the computer asked and Jack had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at the machines persistence.

"It’s okay," he repeated, glancing around him. He knew he didn’t have long before the past version of him would return and create more problems than either of them could handle. "Although, a hiding place would be great," he muttered to himself.

The computer must have heard his muttering, because a panel in the hull beside the small bed slowly creaked open, revealing a space big enough for Jack to slide into and remain until it was safe to come out again.

"Thanks," he whispered gratefully, slipping inside and pressing the door closed. He knew there was no way that his past self would find him, since he hadn’t been aware of the panel’s presence until that moment.

~

Ianto Jones glanced over at his boss who had been focusing on the road so intently he had seemingly forgotten his ability to speak. That, in its self, worried Ianto immensely. Jack Harkness was never at a loss for words; whether it was a flirtatious comment or an angry shout, he always seemed to know how to express his opinions.

To find himself witnessing such a rare event was both terrifying and wonderful to Ianto.

"Jack?" At last the Captain turned his eyes away from the road and looked at him questioningly. "Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

Jack nodded his head, flashing him a brilliant smile. "Of course I am," he replied so cheerfully that Ianto just knew it was a lie. "What makes you think I’m not?"

Ianto gestured around them. "We’ve been parked here for almost twenty minutes and you still haven’t told me why we’re here," he pointed out. "Is it what he said? About Gray."

The guarded look was suddenly back in Jack’s eyes and Ianto immediately regretted asking the question the whole team wanted answers to. It was up to Jack what he told them and Ianto, for one, wasn’t going to push the other man for details; he knew that if he did Jack would simply distance himself like he had done every other time in the past.

"I’m sorry," Ianto whispered. "It’s none of my business."

Jack smiled tightly and reached over, covering Ianto's hand with his own. "You have nothing to be sorry about," he murmured. "This whole business with John is in the past. I don’t care about him anymore." 

He paused for a long moment, and Ianto thought he wasn’t going to say anything else until he added, "I care about you."

"Jack?"

Turning in his seat as best as he could, so he could look at Ianto properly, Jack continued, "I meant what I said, Ianto. I came back for  _you_. I’ve had a lot of time to think over this past… How long have I been gone?" he asked frowning deeply.

"Almost four months," Ianto informed him quietly.

Cursing the Doctor in his head Jack met Ianto's eyes with his own. "I’m sorry. I can’t really explain why right now, but to me it’s been a whole year…"

"Time travel," Ianto nodded his head understandingly. He grinned when he saw Jack’s surprised look. "You disappeared into thin air and the hand was missing. I worked at Torchwood London, Jack. Of course I realised you’d gone with the Doctor. I just don’t get why he didn’t bring you back sooner."

Jack reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair away from Ianto's forehead. He couldn’t believe he almost hadn’t returned to the wonderful man in front of him. "Neither do I," he admitted. "But, like I was saying, I meant what I said. I came back for you. And this time I’m going to do it properly."

Not saying anything else, Jack jumped out of the SUV and motioned for Ianto to follow him. Silently Jack led Ianto up the many stairs and out on to the roof of the Millennium Centre.

He knew Jack spent most of his time on the roofs of building, staring up at the sky above them. Ianto had always assumed Jack’s fascination with being so high off the ground was something to do with his past as a RAF pilot. It was only recently that Ianto began to think that maybe Jack spent his time staring into space, in the hopes that he would see a blue box flying through the sky, coming back for him.

Turning around and surveying the sparkling city below him, Ianto felt all his breath leave him in a rush. The view from up here really was amazing; the buildings around them seemed like nothing more than tiny dots of light.

"Jack, this is amazing," he whispered, turning back to Jack who was standing a few feet away from him.

The Captain grinned at him and pushed his sleeve back. "That’s nothing," he assured him. "Wait ‘til you see what I really brought you up here for."

He entered a code into the wristband and instantly, the previously empty space behind him filled with a rather large spaceship. 

Ianto knew that if he had been standing any closer to the edge of the building, he would have fallen off in surprise. "Jack?" he asked curiously, taking a step closer to the other man and the ship. "What’s going on?"

Jack grinned proudly and ran his hand over the ship. "This is my ship. She was mine, long before I met the Doctor."

"How is this even possible?" Ianto felt like his head was swimming. He knew Jack was hardly an open book but he had never once hinted that he had an alien spacecraft parked on top of the centre.

"I met the Doctor in World War two," Jack began, watching Ianto for any signs on uneasiness. "There was a bomb about to destroy half of London and I stopped it; the first act of good I’d done for a long time," he murmured, his blue eyes drifting away as he got lost in memories.

"When I became immortal and had to live through the war again, I knew I wanted to save this ship. I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her and knowing she was within my reach once more was too good an opportunity to miss. I just needed to find a way to get rid of the bomb."

Suddenly Ianto remembered something he had seen in the archives, his very first week with Torchwood Cardiff. "The alien bomb deactivator," he spoke softly. "It was reported missing in August 1940."

Jack smiled affectionately and held his hand out to the other man, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt Ianto's warm palm slid against his. "I should have known you would have noticed that," he murmured, running his thumb over the back of Ianto's hand. "I stole that just before I left for the war. I tried to wipe all mention of that device from the archives, but I apparently missed one."

Ianto grinned and stepped closer to Jack, getting far closer than would have been considered appropriate to any one other than Captain Jack Harkness. 

"You have confessed that you don’t know your way around the archives, Sir," he whispered, purposely lowering his voice at the last word, knowing what it did to Jack.

To his delight, Jack swallowed thickly and took a step back to regain his composure. "Ianto…" he shook his head and chuckled to himself. "I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I meant it when I said I want to do things properly." Ianto raised an eyebrow and Jack continued, "I want to wine and dine you before we have sex."

Ianto tilted his head to the side, considering Jack and his offer before he smiled happily. "I know," he whispered, stepping closer and pressing his lips against Jack’s cheek. "I was just teasing."

Stepping away from Jack, Ianto moved so there was a respectable distance between them and turned the Captain’s attention back to the ship. "What happened to the bomb?"

"Once it wasn’t active anymore, I took it in space and dropped it into a black hole."

He met Jack’s eyes with his own blue ones and asked, "Why did you come back? You were free from Earth and Torchwood."

Jack shrugged his shoulders and climbed up onto the ship, holding his hand down to help Ianto. "I still didn’t know what was wrong with me. Staying on Earth was the only way I could think of to ensure I’d meet the Doctor again."

"And all this time you’ve been keeping a spaceship parked on the roof of the…" Ianto paused and frowned halfway down the ladder into the ship. "What did you do before the centre was here?" he asked, looking down at Jack.

Jack held a hand up, grinning when he felt Ianto's fingers curl around his own. "She used to be parked on top of the warehouses that used to be here."

Ianto grimaced when he stepped off the ladder and cracked his head on the hull above him. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing his head and glaring at Jack when he laughed. "It’s not funny!"

"Yes, it is," he nodded. "I did the same thing when I first got her back." He pressed his lips against the top of Ianto's head, soothing the pain before stepping back. 

As he moved away, Ianto glanced around him, taking in his surroundings. Even though he had been working for Torchwood for so long, he had never truly seen the inside of a spaceship. He had seen plenty of various pictures and plenty of sci-fi films, but none of them seemed to fully capture the beauty of non-terrestrial vehicles.

He grinned when he noticed a bunk slotted into the ship beside him and that it was wide enough for two people to lie on; there was also enough headroom for other non-sleep related activities, he noted.

"Do you bring a lot of guys in here, Captain?" he smirked, nodding to the bed.

To his surprise Jack blushed lightly before he rolled his eyes. "Rest assured that you are the first person, male or female, that’s been in here since 1941."

Ianto grinned and stepped closer to Jack, sliding his arms around his neck and burying his fingers in his soft brown hair. "That’s good to know," he whispered, pressing a chaste kiss on his lips. "Where are you going to take me?" 

Jack’s eyes flickered open and he frowned in confusion. "What?" Being so close to Ianto after such a long time apart was making it hard for him to concentrate.

"We have a few hours to kill before we can go back to the Hub without running into ourselves," he reminded Jack. "Where are you going to take me?" he nodded to the controls at the front of the ship. "Think of this as a prequel to our date." 

"Where do you want to go?" Jack pushed, his eyes lighting up at the thought of taking Ianto for a ride on his spaceship.

Jack kissed him and slid into seat, flicking various switches and turning on the computer systems. 

"Surprise me," Ianto whispered, leaning down and whispering in the Captain’s ear.

A brilliant grin was the only thing he received in response as Jack span his chair around and began the preparations for take-off. 

Seconds before he started the engines, Jack turned to Ianto and asked, "Have you ever seen the Great Wall of China from space?"


End file.
